More car talk

[flippinchica]

Ok, I don't think we are quite ready for a minivan.  This is (hopefully) #1 for us and we don't plan on having more than 2.  Right now I have a mazda miata which clearly won't work with LO's so I will need a new vehicle.  H has a Nissan Xterra so we are thinking of a midsize car for me (Camry, Accord, Mazda 626).  Thoughts?  Suggestions?  If it matters, I am very short <5ft, and H is average size (about 5'10").

[flippinchica]

Hopefully we won't end up like our neighbors who went for #2 and got triplets!

[abvintage]

Well I have a 2006 Toyota that has 120K miles on it and because of that I have to promote them. It's a seriously reliable car. The issue I really don't feel that comfortable in a car and would rather be in a small/medium SUV like the CR-V or Highlander.

Honda also makes a good/reliable car. The thing for me is that I don't want to worry about it breaking down. Especially with kiddos.

Cars/Vehicles are just so damn expensive. I can afford one but I've had the same one for so long because it's just crazy to pay for a car the same a down payment on a house. IDK what the right answer is but I really like Consumer Reports car issue for figuring it all out. Also to get the best deal buy 2-3 years used with less thank 30K miles on it.

[mkissa]

I have a 2012 Ford Fusion that I absolutely love and so does DH. It has enough power for him (well compared to his beater '92 4Runner that is on its last legs. It has been super reliable so far (though still kinda new), but has driven us to and from SoCal to NorCal and SoCal to Vegas both drives many times. I have never felt anything but safe and comfortable in it.

[lindy]

We have a Toyota Prius. It really is a great size for one kid and two adults. It also doesn't hurt that it gets 50 mpg. I do recommend a hatch back, or small SUV, just because it's easier to fit more stuff when traveling by laying a seat down.

[thewop]

According to my car crazy H: 07 or newer Malibu but stay away from the 3.6l motor. 08 or newer Ford Taurus. Newer Buick Regal (especially the turbo ). Stay away from anything with a cvt transmission which is what a lot of crossovers have. Honda Accord is good too.

[lindy]

My husband currently has an accord and it fits car seats just fine. It's also been reliable.

[divinemsbee]

Not a car car, but we bought a 2011 Subaru Outback just about 2 years ago and we both love it. It's big enough for kids/dogs/trips/gardening supplies, but it drives more like a wagon. It's kind of a cross between a station wagon and a small SUV; it's not super huge but has lots of space inside. And it's really really safe, plus the 4WD is useful to us since we never know when we're going to move. We figure in a couple of years we'll upgrade to a newer model, or if Subaru comes out with a three row.

[jordanelizabeth]

I'm trading in my Mazda 3 for a Suby Forester for the all wheel drive. If you don't need all wheel drive, the Mazda 3 had been awesome and super spacious.

[motownthrowdown]

I bought a new Malibu yesterday-plenty of room in the back for a car seat and a pretty big trunk. I am not a minivan person, but we wanted to replace my 20 year old two door car with something more kid friendly. Cars ARE expensive as hell though.

[jordanelizabeth]

Jan 20, 2015 18:37:49 GMT -5 motownthrowdown said:

I bought a new Malibu yesterday-plenty of room in the back for a car seat and a pretty big trunk. I am not a minivan person, but we wanted to replace my 20 year old two door car with something more kid friendly. Cars ARE expensive as hell though.

Woo! Congrats on the new purchase!

[Deleted]

We are a Chevy Family, but we have a Trailblazer and a Malibu. DH is worried about the lack of room for other people with two kids, but that isn't really a concern of mine. Both have pretty good space for all the extras and we usually only take the SUV on trips for the space for all of us.

[flippinchica]

Jan 20, 2015 18:32:28 GMT -5 jordanelizabeth said:

I'm trading in my Mazda 3 for a Suby Forester for the all wheel drive. If you don't need all wheel drive, the Mazda 3 had been awesome and super spacious.

I drove a mazda 3 as a rental a while back and really liked it but I was thinking I might go bigger and get a 6.  No need for AWD here on the gulf coast!  Hooray for that.

[karlamo]

With our first we bought the all new Rav 4 and love it. We splurged and got all the bells and whistles, you know once I saw I didn't have to close the trunk myself then why would I! It is spacious and fits 2 car seats perfectly with room to spare. Our other car is the old style forrester.

[lisamarie]

I now have a Traverse (and am looking to get something bigger now), but had a Camry before that when I had just 2 kids. It was very roomy and was super comforable to drive. It had great features and isn't bad looking either!

[yogisews]

I have a Hyundai Accent and it will work fine with 2 kids. Our only problem is DH is tall (6'2") and has to have his seat all the way back when driving. So we will switch DD to forward facing behind the driver's seat and new baby will be rear facing behind the passenger's seat, where DD is right now.

[RedAero]

We have a Kia Sorrento and it's great for two kids in car seats, but probably won't work with three. We could probably MAKE it work, but it'd be a giant pain in the ass. You can't get into the third row without folding a seat in the middle row forward. Which is a shitty setup for carseats. Using the third row also means you have pretty much zero cargo space. (Definitely not enough to fit our stroller, or even a reasonable amount of groceries.)

DH wants to look at a Yukon. Which seems pricey and probably more than we need, but I'm reserving judgment until we go look at it, I guess.

I'm perusing the thread about mini-vans. I was SO opposed to getting one of those a few years ago, but now, eh. I'm going with whatever is easiest, I don't give a shit what it looks like anymore.

[2dumbdogs]

My sister has 2 kids easily in a Mazda 6, one is still rear facing, and she and her husband are average height. So something that size will absolutely work. The trunk is big enough for a pretty decent sized stroller, too.

It's not a bad looking car and she's had it for quite a while, probably 6 years or so? She is looking to upgrade to a Nissan maxima. I drove one recently as a rental and it was huge, very comfortable, and very quiet. I was very impressed.

[maroongolf]

I have an accord and really like it. There is plenty of room for two rear facing seats, and the trunk is huge. I currently have a double stroller and single stroller in the trunk, and there is still room left over. I used to have an Acura MDX which was also great, but the driver and passenger seats had to be moved up pretty far to accommodate rear facing car seats.

[aelias]

Jan 20, 2015 17:48:30 GMT -5 abvintage said:

Well I have a 2006 Toyota that has 120K miles on it and because of that I have to promote them. It's a seriously reliable car. The issue I really don't feel that comfortable in a car and would rather be in a small/medium SUV like the CR-V or Highlander.

Honda also makes a good/reliable car. The thing for me is that I don't want to worry about it breaking down. Especially with kiddos.

Cars/Vehicles are just so damn expensive. I can afford one but I've had the same one for so long because it's just crazy to pay for a car the same a down payment on a house. IDK what the right answer is but I really like Consumer Reports car issue for figuring it all out. Also to get the best deal buy 2-3 years used with less thank 30K miles on it.

This.  Can't go wrong with a Honda or a Toyota.  They're solid cars, very reliable, and you can drive them for years.

I know I am in the EXTREME minority here, but we did 1 kid with a two door car.  A 2-door 1995 Toyota Paseo with 200K+ miles on it.  I bought it with my babysitting and lifegaurding money in HIGH SCHOOL.  Don't get me wrong, it's a good car, but it's beat up and I'm ready to move on to something new.  But it is possible to do 1 kid in a very small car.

My husband really doesn't want to buy a new car (it's a confusing pride thing; we definitely have the money), but I am putting my foot down on 2 kids in a 2 door car.  My dad kept his 2 door "bachelor" car for way too long into my childhood, and it was seriously uncomfortable.

[ajetter]

Jan 20, 2015 19:22:48 GMT -5 karlamo said:

With our first we bought the all new Rav 4 and love it. We splurged and got all the bells and whistles, you know once I saw I didn't have to close the trunk myself then why would I! It is spacious and fits 2 car seats perfectly with room to spare. Our other car is the old style forrester.

I have a 2005 Rav 4, and I love that dang thing. It definitely won't work for 3 kids, and I'm sure the new ones are much more spacious, but I wish I didn't have to give it up. We have an Acadia so we might hang on to it for a while, I just won't be the one driving it.

[shayr]

About a year ago my husband and I bought a volkswagen golf R for me....4 door, yet turbocharged. This was our idea of a future family car, yet still fun. He also had a golf r32 (we're a Volkswagen/audi family and into car shows and such). Well after dealing with my 4 year old nephew and babysitting a one year old I realized my "family" car isn't really child friendly. Considering it's a manual and just not overly spacious as I thought now we are looking into audi Q5's or jeep Cherokees. I'm still trying to get my husbands head out of the clouds and just get a Honda! Something a little bigger but cheaper than my current car payment

[lavonnallama]

We have a Honda CRV and to me, it is perfect. It's a crossover, but it is so easy to get LO into.